New Anti-HB2 Ad Rolls Out, Stars Trans Man

Groups including the American Unity Fund, Freedom for All Americans, and Equality North Carolina are hoping that images and clips of real-life LGBT people affected by the Tar Heel State's House Bill 2 will drive momentum for repeal.

The three aforementioned groups paid for a new ad that tells the story of Zeke Christopoulos, an Asheville transgender man. Two of Christopoulos's coworkers are also featured, with one expressing initial discomfort at discovering Christopoulos was trans. Both colleagues now understand that Christopoulos is simply another peer, one who is unfairly targeted by HB 2, which bars transgender people from using restrooms corresponding with their gender identity, when those restrooms are located in government buildings.

"When you stop and think about it, everyone needs to use the bathroom just to get through the day," Christopoulos's coworker Patricia Hickling Beckman says in the ad. "And a law that forces Zeke to use the women's restroom is totally inappropriate. And that's exactly what HB 2 does."

The advertisement also brings attention to HB 2's other discriminatory features.

"It took away local protections for gay and transgender people, and even protections based on race and gender," Christopoulos's colleague Chester A. Spier says.

Watch below.